GP training in the Cairns region
There are six main placement sites in the Cairns region where you may be based during your GP training. These include: Mossman, Port Douglas, Kuranda, Cairns, Innisfail and Tully.
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service is comprised of 21 facilities. The Cairns Hospital is the major referral centre for tropical north Queensland and the major provider of outreach specialist services to remote and rural areas.
Other major hospitals within this region include the Innisfail and Tully hospitals, south of Cairns.
Registrars working in the Cairns region can enjoy opportunities in the varied specialties including in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
Lifestyle
Enjoy relaxed coastal living at its best in the Cairns region, surrounded by beautiful beaches and lush rainforests.
Cairns is the only place in the world where two World Heritage areas meet - the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest.
Looking for adventure? There is plenty to do in the Cairns region from bungee jumping, fishing, mountain biking, parasailing, snorkelling, skydiving and white water rafting.
The region has a rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture which you can experience through guided tours, watch traditional performances and view unique Indigenous artwork.
Have a taste of the tropics by trying locally grown fresh produce including native spices that Aboriginal people gathered from the land for millennia and appear at local markets and restaurants today.
4 Attractions in the Cairns region
CAIRNS Cairns is described as the heart of Tropical North Queensland, and is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Explore the world’s largest coral reef by boat or on a scenic flight where you will be amazed by the marine wildlife and exotic coral reef that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
The Daintree Rainforest is a World Heritage listed icon and has the highest number of plant and animal species that are rare, or endangered with near extinction in the world.
MOSSMAN The picturesque town of Mossman is nestled at the foot of mountains among fields of sugar cane. Just five minutes west of Mossman you will find the Mossman Gorge, part of the World Heritage listed Daintree National Park. There you will discover granite boulders lining the gorge and clear freshwater swimming holes surrounded by INNISFAIL mountains. The gorge is home to the Kuku Yalanji Innisfail has a population of approximately 10,000 people, the area’s traditional Aboriginal landowners. and is situated 90kms from Cairns. The town Guided bushwalks are available. is surrounded by beautiful natural attractions including Paronella Park, a National Heritage listed park built in the 1930 inspired by Spanish castles, some of which still exist today.
TULLY Tully is a small tropical town surrounded by World Heritage rainforest as well as banana and sugar cane plantations. Tully is one of the greenest and wettest towns in Australia.
5 Have you ever felt like you ‘hit the jackpot’? “Well, that’s how I feel about working at the Babinda MPHS for GP training! Babinda is a lush tropical paradise and sports the title of “Australia’s wettest town”. I’m totally at home surrounded by a bounty of natural wonders, including the beautiful Babinda Boulders, a tourist hotspot. Born of FNQ
farming stock, I feast my eyes on the fertile
green world around Babinda that spells exotic fruit, sugar cane, cattle and fishing. The great dividing range fringes the golden “ east coast line and is a spectacular deep blue reassuring backdrop on the western horizon.
Dr Angie Vico JCU GP Registrar, Cairns Coast
6